Adjustable thrust mechanism for separating the bonds between annular components of pneumatic tire-wheel assemblies

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for separating bonds between annular tire-wheel components such as wheel flanges, bead rims, locking rings and tire beads. In the separation of tire beads from wheel rims, for example, the free contact end of an elongated reciprocable thrust tool is swingably mounted about a fixed pivot, transversely of a bead-engaged flange, and to selected pressure-applying positions where it may be releasably fixed in position. The thrust tool may be employed singly in breaking only one bead of an assembly, or in combination with an opposing thrust tool when simultaneously breaking both tire beads. The mechanism is further characterized by a pair of manually operable levers engageable with opposed faces of the tire at points diametrically opposite the thrust tool to thereby stabilize the assembly during a bond breaking operation.

United States Patent James, Jr.

Jan. 1, 1974 Primary Examiner-Granville Y. Custer, Jr. AttorneyRobertBrown, Jr.

[ 5 7] ABSTRACT Apparatus for separating bonds between annular tirewheelcomponents such as wheel flanges, bead rims, locking rings and tirebeads. In the separation of tire beads from wheel rims, for example, thefree contact end of an elongated reciprocable thrust tool is swingablymounted about a fixed pivot, transversely of a bead-engaged flange, andto selected pressureapplying positions where it may be releasably fixedin position. The thrust tool may be employed singly in breaking only onebead of an assembly, or in combination with an opposing thrust tool whensimultaneously breaking both tire beads. The mechanism is furthercharacterized by a pair of manually operable levers engageable withopposed faces of the tire at points diametrically opposite the thrusttool to thereby stabilize the assembly during a bond breaking operation.

2 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTED JAN 1 4 SHEEI 1 OF 2 ATTORNEY saw2 or 2 INVENTOR; JAKE JAMES,JQ.

ATTORNEY ADJUSTABLE THRUST MECHANISM FOR SEPARATING THE BONDS BETWEENANNULAR COMPONENTS OF PNEUMATIC TIRE-WHEEL ASSEMBLIES This inventionrelates to machines for use in demounting pneumatic tires from wheelrims of wheel assemblies, and more particularly a machine of this classprovided with a reciprocable power thrust tool adapted to be quicklyadjusted to contact the face of the assembly at selected points alongthe wheel radius.

I-Ieretofore, various types of machines have been employed withadjustments purporting to insure proper contact between the thrust toolor ram and the tire components. Schaevitz US. Pat. No. 3,033,268 is anexample of such an adjustment by bodily raising or lowering the thrustelement assembly relative to the wheel assembly, while Whited U.S. Pat.No. 3,426,827 raises and lowers the wheel assembly. Other tool positionadjustments include bolt-slot connections such as shown in US. Pat. No.2,798,540 which require tedious and time-consuming manipulations.

The above-mentioned types of prior art adjustment mechanisms haveserious drawbacks either due to complex, costly and unsafe constructionand inefficient operation, or combinations of two or more of theseobjections.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an adjustablepower thrust, tire-wheel-component, bond-breaking mechanism whichsubstantially reduces the aforementioned objections to similar prior artdevices.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an adjustable powerthrust tool or ram assembly for separating the bonds between annularcomponents of pneumatic tire-wheel assemblies wherein one end of the ramassembly remains anchored to a fixed pivot and the opposite engaging endis swingable about a radius and through a relatively short arc toselected thrust posi- 'tions transversely of the bonded annularjunction. This construction permits adjustment of the tool contactingpositions by slightly varying the angularity of the assembly at thepivot, but without changing the location of the pivot or thrust reactionpoint, thereby contributing to the simplicity, safety and stability ofthe entire mechanism.

It is another object of this invention to provide a mechanism of theclass described which is portable, practically maintenance free,economical to manufacture, and self-contained.

Some of the objects of invention having been stated, other objects willappear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which,

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of my machine, with parts shown in section,and further showing a pair of oppositely acting thrust assemblies forsimultaneously en gaging opposite faces of a tire-wheel assembly;

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the left-hand side of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 in FIG. I;

FIG. 5 is a sectional plan view taken along line 55 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional plan view taken along line 6-6 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional plan view taken along line 77 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 5, showingdetails of the foot-actuated control valve;

FIG. 9 is a sectional detail view showing the present invention as usedto separate bonds between 3-piece rim components, and

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing a single power thrust assemblyadapted for operation on one side of a tire-wheel assembly only.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 10 denotes arectangular framework for supporting two opposite-hand andoppositely-acting power thrust assemblies broadly designated by numerals11 and 1-1', respectively. These assemblies are substantially identicalin construction and, therefore, a detailed description of only one willbe made; and the other assembly will be referred to with the samenumerals with prime notations added to designate corresponding parts.

A ramp assembly, broadly designated by numeral 12, is mounted on thevertical center line of the base of framework 10, said assemblycomprising an inclined ramp l4 and a pair of spaced parallel rollers 15.Ramp 14 facilitates rolling of a tire-wheel assembly 16 to thedotted-line operating position upon the rollers 15 and between opposedthrust assemblies 11 and 11 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 5.

For purposes of illustration, a two-piece tire wheel is shown, but theinvention is adapted to operate in conjunction with other types asillustrated in FIG. 9.

The thrust assembly 11 comprises a pneumatic or similar type of cylinder19 secured to U-shaped bracket 20 pivotally secured as at 21 toframework 10. Cylinder 19 is equipped with piston 22 and attached pistonrod 23, the outer end of said rod having a thrust tool or wedge 24integral therewith. The proximate outer end portions of these tools areswingable substantially in a plane passing through the center 26 oftire-wheel assembly 16 and the pivots 21 and 21' about which therespective tools are anchored. Thus, the proximate ends of thrust tools24 and 24 swing radially of the tire wheel assembly 16 and transverselyof tire beads 18a and the rim flanges 17a.

In the positions shown in FIG. 1, the tools are longitudinally alinedand ready to engage the two tire beads 18a at the same elevations tosimultaneously separate the beads from the flanges 17a. A tire-wheelassembly 16 of a different diameter, however, will have a beadflangebond at a higher or lower elevation thereby requiring adjustment of thecontact ends of the thrust tools 24 and 24' accordingly, such as forexample, to dotted line positions 24a or 24b (FIG. 1).

In order to provide adjustment for an assembly 16 of a different size,the lower end of a vertically extending link 28 is pivotally secured asat 29 to tool 24, the

upper end of said link having a toothed rack 30 releasably engageablewith one end or tool of a horizontal slot 31 provided in the outstandingleg of structural member 32 cantilevered from framework 10 (FIG. 6).Tension springs 33 connect the intermediate portion of link 28 to theframework 10 and serve the dual function of biasing tool 24 towardretracted position and yieldingly holding rack 30 in engagement with theend of slot 31. Rack 30 is provided with a shifting handle 35 for use bythe operator when making an adjustment.

If tool 24 should break its associated bead 180 from rim flange 17abefore the opposing tool 24' makes a break, the tools are retracted topermit tool 24 to be repositioned against its associated rim flange 17awhile tool 24' remains at the same elevation. Then the tools are againactuated to separate the remaining bond.

It is important to note that the tooth-rack construction 30, 31 affordsalmost instantaneous manual adjustment of the position of one and/orboth of the oppositely disposed thrust wedges or tools 24, 24'. Moreparticularly, the tools may be independently released from one fixedposition, shifted while in released position to a selected position, andthen releasably fixed in the selected position. By employing thisimproved shifttype mechanism, a very substantial reduction in time canbe realized in a single bead-breaking operation for a tire-wheelassembly, as compared with the time required for the same operation whenusing the screwtype adjustment means such as indicated by the referencenumerals 32, 33 in the above-mentioned Schaevitz US. Pat. No. 3,033,268.The increased efficiency of the shift-type adjustment will beappreciated more fully in view of the further explanation in the nextparagraph.

Experience teaches that in nearly all cases of beadflange separation bymeans of oppositely disposed thrust tools, one head will break loosebefore the other. To break the other bead in such cases, the thrusttools 24, 24' must be retracted to permit the tool at the broken bead tobe raised to a position opposite the rim flange, and then the opposedthrust tools as adjusted must be moved inwardly against the last-namedflange and the unbroken tire bead respectively, thereby completing theseparation of both beads for a segment of the wheel. To separate thebeads at the remaining segments, the wheel assembly 16 is rotated toposition unbroken bead segments between the tools; and after anynecessary adjustments of these tools, the above bead breaking steps arerepeated. Since several adjustments are usually made during a completebead breaking operation for a wheel assembly 16, the total time saved isquite substantial. For repeated operations over a long period, thesaving of time is even more impressive.

In order to hold the tire-wheel assembly 16 in proper upright position(FIG. 1), suitable adjustable and oppositely acting clamp or holdingassemblies 37 and 37' are provided, said assemblies adapted to engageand clamp opposed faces of the tire 18 at points diametrically above thethrust rams or tools and the tire-wheel assembly axis 26 (FIG. 2).

The assembly 37 includes a horizontally disposed tire-engaging bar 39integral with the lower end of a vertically disposed lever 40 pivotedintermediate its ends as at 41 to the end of cantilevered member 32. Theupper end of lever 40 is pivoted as at 42 to one leg of L-shapedshifting member 43,'the leg 44 thereof releasably engageable with theteeth ofa rack 45. Leg 44 also serves as an operating handle.Corresponding parts of the opposite holding assembly 37' bear likereference numerals with prime notations added.

Cylinders l9 and 19' are connected to foot valve unit 46 by means ofconduits 47 and 48, said unit having a suitable valve element 49 thereinnormally biased toward closing position by a spring 50 (FIG. 8). An airsupply conduit 51 communicates with the interior of unit 41 on the sideof valve element 49 opposite the ports of conduits 47 and 48, said valveelement 49- being operable by means of foot lever 54 pivotedintermediate its ends as at 55.

FIG. 9 shows a 3-piece rim assembly consisting of a fixed rim part 56, aremovable rim part 57, and a removable split look ring part 58. Bysuitably positioning the tools or wedges 24 and 24' in engagement withopposed fixed and removable parts 56 and 58, for example, and thenapplying pressure axially of the wheel assembly, separation of theinterfacial bonds can be effected.

FIG. 10' shows a modified adaptation of the present invention similar toFIGS. 1-8 wherein laterally fixed means 60 and 61 are provided to resistthe axial thrust of assembly 11 instead of the laterally movableassembly 11, the latter assembly serving as a thrust resisting means inthe preceding embodiment. FIG. 10 further shows means 63 for verticallyadjusting the position of tire-wheel assembly 16 relative to thepivotedthrust wedge 24, said means including block 64 for supportingrollers 15. Block 64 is mounted for vertical movement between guideways65 and 66 on framework 10a. The lower surface of block 64 has convergentsurfaces 68 and 69 which slidably engage similarly convergent surfaceson the upper faces of blocks 70 and 71 respectively. It will be notedthat the lower surfaces of blocks 70 and 71 are slidably mounted uponhorizontal surface 72 of framework 10a. A rod 73 has reversely threadedportions 74 and 74 interengaging cam blocks 70 and 71 respectively, saidrod having operating crank 76 on one end thereof.

Each of the opposing clamp assemblies 37 and 37' is provided with atooth-rack adjustment means 44, 45 or 44 or 45' which affords quickmanual adjustment of the relative positions of the tire-engaging clampbars 39 and 39. In other words, the clamp bars may be independently andquickly released from one fixed position, shifted while released to aselected position, and then releasably secured in the selected position.

The operation of the adjustment means for assemblies 37 and 37' issimilar in principle to that for adjusting the positions of thrust tools30, 31. In other words, the shift-type adjustment means 44, 44' and 45,45 may be released from one fixed position, shifted while released to aselected position, and then releasably secured in the selected position.

Thus, when the time saved by the shift-type adjusting means 30, 31, 30,31, is added to the time saved by the second shift-type adjusting means44,45,44',45', the total time saved in processing one tire-rim assembly16 amounts to a substantial operating economy. The first and secondshift-type adjusting means are operated alternately while separating thebeads from the rim flanges, and therefore the sum total of the savingsof both are pertinent.

By turning crank 76, the lateral positions of cam blocks 70 and 71 willbe varied thereby varying the elevation of block 64, rollers 15 and tireassembly 16 relative to thrust wedge 24. This vertical adjustment meanscooperates with adjustment mechanism 11 to increase the number ofangular positions possible between the thrust tool 24 and the convexouter surface of the tire 18. The adjustment means 63 further enablesthe operator to quickly accommodate wheel assemblies of different sizesto positions corresponding to optimum operating positions of the pivotedthrust wedges 24.

To operate, the wheel assembly 16 is rolled upon ramp 14 and on rollers15. Then the holding arm assemblies 37 and 37 are adjusted againstopposite faces of tire 18 to hold it in place on the rollers during thefollowing working operation. Next, the pressure tools 24 and 24' areadjusted about pivots 21 and 21 to the proper elevation to engage thetire beads 18a at points adjacent the flanges 17a, this adjustment beingeffected by means of handles 35, 35'. The bead or bond is now ready tobe broken, at which time the operator depresses pedal 54 to introduceair pressure into cylinders l9 and 19'. When the pedal is depressed, airflows into b. means (15, 15) for supporting the bead-engaged flanges ofsaid assembly between said tools;

c. means (21, 21) for pivotally mounting each of said tools for movementtransversely of its proximate bead-engaged flange and through an arclying in a plane normal to said assembly faces, and

d. means including a tooth and rack connection (30, 31, 30, 31) forselectively and releasably securing each of said tools in a plurality offixed positions along said arc.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 and further comprising: a pair ofpivoted levers (40, 40) having the free ends (39, 39') thereof swingabletoward and away from the opposite faces of said assembly (16) at pointsdisposed substantially diametrically opposite said supporting means (15,15), and means including a second tooth and rack connection (44, 44, 45,45) for selectively and releasably securing each of said lever engagingends in a plurality of fixed positions, whereby assemblies of variouswidths may be clamped between said lever ends.

1. Apparatus for breaking bonds between annular components of apneumatic tire-wheel assembly (16), said assembly including tirebead-engaged flanges (17a, 17a) on opposite faces thereof, comprisingthe combination of: a. a pair of oppOsitely disposed reciprocablebead-breaking thrust tools (24, 24''); b. means (15, 15) for supportingthe bead-engaged flanges of said assembly between said tools; c. means(21, 21'') for pivotally mounting each of said tools for movementtransversely of its proximate bead-engaged flange and through an arclying in a plane normal to said assembly faces, and d. means including atooth and rack connection (30, 31, 30'', 31'') for selectively andreleasably securing each of said tools in a plurality of fixed positionsalong said arc.
 2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 and furthercomprising: a pair of pivoted levers (40, 40'') having the free ends(39, 39'') thereof swingable toward and away from the opposite faces ofsaid assembly (16) at points disposed substantially diametricallyopposite said supporting means (15, 15), and means including a secondtooth and rack connection (44, 44'', 45, 45'') for selectively andreleasably securing each of said lever engaging ends in a plurality offixed positions, whereby assemblies of various widths may be clampedbetween said lever ends.